Heart of a Killer
by virusq
Summary: Talon Karrde and Mara Jade are ambushed by thugs on their way home from a gala. Karrde muses while Mara dispatches the ruffians. Implied Karrde/Mara.


**Date:** 02/09/08  
**Title:** Heart of a Killer  
**Author:** Melissa Russell, VirusQ (AT) hotmail (DOT) com  
**Characters:** Mara Jade/Talon Karrde  
**Time Period:** ABY  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Author's Note: **_For Imadrablue's Star Wars Valentine's Day_  
Because violence is the answer to everything. :D  
I'm writing this in a bit of a rush, given that I'm taking off for Estrella.  
Enjoy!  
PS: Thank you to Moira for mulling it over with me. 3

_Did my heart love till now?  
Forswear it sight,  
For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night._  
William Shakespeare

:

He collapsed with a grunt, arm and ribs fractured. The assailant was lucky: his breaks were audibly cleaner than his friend's. With a flick of the wrist and a well-pointed thrust, the palm of her hand left an imprint of blood streaming down the next man's face. Gliding and weaving among the bodies, she moved on to her next victim with silent footfalls. Her long black dress spun seconds behind her, caught up in momentum and grasping at every movement and curve. She dipped low and swept the last man from his feet, then paused to survey the alleyway scene with effeminate grace.

Talon Karrde felt foolish, releasing the grasp on his still-holstered blaster. The moment had come and gone so fast that Mara Jade had already caught the first thug by the wrist when he unclasped the weapon from within his jacket. He straightened his cuff links in a successful attempt to look composed and unfazed. "You never dance with me," he noted playfully with a hurt tone, "They didn't even ask politely."

Her eyes glimmered with a predatory brilliance, blazing green despite the alley shadows. She fixed a rebellious strand of fiery hair and shot him a sharp smile. "I told you," she started, stepping through the collapsed thugs and deliberately grinding a pointed heel into the initial attacker's back, "These are the _wrong_ shoes for that."

He winced inwardly, concerned where the night was headed; self-defense was one thing, but cold-blooded murder was quite another. He told himself it was a matter of preventing sour business transactions but, in truth, he feared the ruthless disregard for sentience that she turned to for such occasions.

A shout echoed down the cold stone corridor, and red energy sizzled past them shortly after. They hurried down the alley with increased speed, the train of her dress in one hand and a blaster in the other. Her skin-tight silhouette still on his mind, he briefly wondered where she had hidden it. The distraction cost him as they turned a corner and she hurled him through an empty doorway, into a shallow alcove. A jolt of pain shot up his shoulder as he met an inner wall and exhaled sharply. She always favored playing rough.

She ducked in behind him, released her train and clapped a warm hand across his face in an abrupt gesture demanding silence. They crouched in the darkness for a handful of heavy heartbeats, until shadows played across the broken door, signaling the men had reached the end of the alley. They cursed at their vanished prey and split up.

Cautiously, as if handling a feral beast, Talon Karrde raised his hands and removed Mara's from his face. She started to rise, violently intent on stalking her targets down and silencing them individually, but his grasp did not loosen.

"Let go." She hissed through her teeth angrily and tried to pull away again, eager to act on the adrenaline high.

"They're gone, Mara." He soothed, finding his footing and rising up beside her. She turned to glare at him, a look that challenged his authority to call off the hunt. Assuming an air of ignorant fearlessness, he reached out and gently stroked a spot of blood from her cheek. "It's time for us to go."

As he watched and waited, he could feel her pulse slow and the bloodlust fade from her eyes. Her features softened, and she shifted her weight into a more passive stance. The light-blue streetlight reflected from the broken door, illuminating every delicate strand of hair and pale feature.

She exhaled a half-hearted sigh and holstered her weapon. "You owe me dinner."

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it before releasing her. "That I do."


End file.
